Sunday, March 09, 2008

You may have seen this already on the net, but I just found it today. Amazing!

After God of War, I was just SO sick of Greek Mythology/Greek History/Sword & Sandal stuff that I avoided 300 when it first hit theaters. And then I avoided it when it came out of DVD. And I even avoided it for a long time after that cause I was just so SICK of the whole vibe.

But I finally watched it last month and LOVED it. I had read the comic before and dug it, but the movie was just stunning and so cool and so amazing. And that scene with those cool dudes in the masks tossing those bombs? Classic!

So...as you can imagine, to see these two going head to head? So cool! And before you ask, my money is on Kratos. Come on man, he's the fucking God of War!

But to be fair, my Kratos love has been strong today. Why? Cause I've been playing the masterpiece that is Chains of Olympus! Been playing it non-stop today. I've been sick in bed and had some time...so I fired it up to see what the fuss was about. I worked on the story with Ru and the Ready at Dawn guys but besides helping to nail down that core story, I had nothing to do with the game...so it's fresh to me. And MAN is it good!

It's so amazing to play a game that you had nothing to do with from a series you had a huge hand in creating. The GOD OF WAR formula is repped well on the PSP and it's pretty cool that- for me- I'm digging it so much. Because a) it's just a fun ass game that makes me so glad people are making handheld games as MORE than little morsels to be played in bite-sized nuggets, but also because b) I had a huge amount to do with the GOD OF WAR formula and it's a great sense of pride for me that the formula- for me anyway- holds up so well. Granted, much/most/all of this is because the game itself was made by the amazing geniuses at RAD. But still...pretty darn cool!

Is it perfect? Nah. The biggest weakness of the game is puzzle design- as has been noted. But some of the puzzles are pretty cool. But overall, they are kind of bland. But they still serve their function as pace breakers and make the game feel more like an adventure than a pure combat game. And that is the most important point. But everything else? Fucking gold,dude!

So if you have yet to play it, please give it a try!

Oh and if I may risk more folks calling me a Sony fanboy: I have to say, the PSP is rocking so hard these days. Not just amazing games like Chains and Wipeout and MLB 2008 (and hell, I still gotta get to Syphon Filter II and try out Patapon)- but it's also so cool to see the PSP store up and running. I love the fact that you can now buy small games like flOw, as well as FULL FLEDGE GAMES UMD sized games for your PSP right off the net. How amazing is that? It's seems like games may finally be starting to enjoy the whole multiple distribution model that movies have enjoyed since VHS and cable (and hell, before that, there was the whole ABC MOVIE OF THE WEEK thing to bring in some extra cash as well).

I just think it's so neat to know that if people want to play TWISTED METAL: HEAD ON- for example- they can buy the UMD for PSP, buy the game on PS2 (with all that extra goody content) or simply download the game from the PSP store for 15 bucks! So many ways to get that content out there...as a game maker, that is crazy exciting!

Thinking about it, I wish Sony would have chopped CHAINS OF OLYMPUS into three parts and sold each for 10 bucks at the PSP store....so if you liked one chapter, you buy the next,etc......and then a few months later you could buy the WHOLE THING with some extra content on UMD. Again, to me it's about finding cool ways to get this content out there and repackage it in ways that are fun and exciting for fans but also make sense on the biz front.

Speaking of downloadable content: Heck, I even played the demo for ROCKETMEN: AXIS OF EVIL last nite and while it was- for the most part- average with some potential, I was like: you know, I may get this when they drop the price to something closer to 4.99. To me, it ain't worth 10 bucks for a number of issues the game has (many of these issues have been pointed out in alot of the poor reviews I've seen on the net, so I will save you the trouble) but issues aside, there is a charm to the game, and there seem to be some neat ideas there. I like alot of the upgrade options and if they actually affect play on a significant level, I could see it having a bit of an addicting quality. Or maybe not. Who knos. And I doubt I'd play thru it all, but for 5 bucks, I'd totally pick it up. Come on Capcom, drop the price! :)

Ok ya'll, I am sick in bed. So is the wife. So glad the Grandparents came over to help with the girls. They are Godsends!

Ok, gonna go read some Marvel digital comics and then finish up Chains of Olympus!

Later!

David

ps. Ok, so this would totally be cool......except for that little image of classic armor iron man coming out of the explosion in the background. Looks like a straight to video release from Cannon films back in the 80's. Or the poster for like, IRON EAGLE 6: CHAPPY'S GHOST!

The rest of the poster is fantastic, tho!

pps. you know, I'm wrong. The rest of the poster is NOT fantastic. It's shit actually. Iron Man looks great! But the photos of the actors, with Jeff Bridges looking all forced and Paltrow all out of place. It's like, in my best 1930's movie producer voice:

'come see our picture! it's got Stars! Stars I tell ya!'

....ugh, note to Marvel: not one of those people on that poster can open a movie. Not even close. So why waste valuable mind-share telling people 'hey, a new Robert Downey movie is out!' versus showing off what- on the surface- is cool about this concept? You know...IRON MAN?

ppps. YES, I get it that Marvel comics and ergo Marvel movies are about PEOPLE too and that these are flawed characters and all that. I get it, it's why I've loved Marvel comics since I was a wee lad. But that is something for folks to discover once they buy the ticket and start watching the movie. And hell, if you MUST sell that point in order to get audiences in that are more than just sci-fi/comic con attending fanboys, then do it in a compelling, creative way. Slapping some b-level actor heads on a poster only tells me that you've made a movie with b-level actors.

pppps. Huge fan of most of the cast...I know the performances will NOT be B level and this movie could very well propel them to AAA status...but that ain't happened yet.

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THE LITTLE COMPANY THAT WAS...

We've officially shut down The Bartlet Jones Supernatural Detective Agency. I am almost certain it shall rise again one day in some form or another but at least as far as ver 1.0 is concerned, 'She's dead, Jim'. And I'll miss her. What a great team, a great company, and a great experience. Thanks for everything, Bartlet Jones! And thanks to Sony for the opportunity to launch our little adventure; y'alls faith in us remains so appreciated! Y'all rock!